Albarn calls time on Blur?

Damon Albarn might be about to close a page in his complicated career by calling an end to Blur. In an interview with The Quietus, Albarn suggested that Blur's summer gig in London could be their swansong.

There had been rumours that Blur would be reconvening to record new material, but Albarn was ambivalent about the future. The band will play the Hyde Park show that closes the Olympics in August, but Albarn hinted that would be the end. He did talk about the new Blur song, Under The Westway, which was premiered at a recent charity benefit.

"It's something I've had knocking about for years and didn’t know what to do with it. Initially I wrote it as a slightly wistful national anthem for my house. I had this idea of getting it made into an old 78 record and making a flag and then just playing it - just being really silly."

Albarn suggested it might be the last Blur song he ever writes. "I don’t really do anything with Blur any more - there’s this concert this year but it’s not a full time thing at all. Maybe this tune's a last little coda to the whole story."

Albarn's future plans may include further collaborations. He recalled how he came close to recording an album with David Bowie and Ray Davies. "I do genuinely like working with people," he said, "but at the same time I don’t expect it to work. I mean, for about 24 hours, many years ago, I was making a record with Bowie and Ray Davies. But that only lasted 24 hours."